I figured the Mets might be out on Ross after re-signing Scott Hairston, as both are lefty-mashers who can spot start in center field — this would seem to be a move from the department of redundancy department — but perhaps not. Ross is a better fielder than Hairston, allowing him to better backup center field, where the Mets are shallow. And if Hairston is forced to shift into playing everyday to replace Jason Bay’s lifeless husk, the Mets bench would suddenly have a serious lack of bats. With Ross, Terry Collins could play Duda-Torres-Ross left to right in the outfield, with Hairston still serving as a backup and spot-starting in left against tough lefties. Ross shares skills with Hairston, but having both could be a good thing for the Mets’ bench.

I’d approve this move. I’ve been half-pushing for Cody Ross since October, when I predicted he would sign with the Mets. Ross is a career .282/.349/.563 hitter with 46 home runs in 684 at-bats against lefthanded pitchers — as I’ve said before, Ross is basically Jose Bautista against lefties, only if Jose Bautista didn’t walk and looked like baby with 5 o’clock shadow.